Vivaldi: In furore iustissimae irae, RV626

“Lezhneva is at her most accomplished [in the Mozart], providing spirited and focused vocalism, running up and down the scales with effortless abandon and to fine effect. Elsewhere there are occasional deficiencies, including high notes slightly wide of the mark...Yet the precision and determination Lezhneva bring to Vivaldi's In furore...is remarkable...the period-instrument orchestra sounds fesity under Giovanni Antonini.” BBC Music Magazine, May 2013 ***

“a singer of uncommon ability and vivacity...Il Giardino Armonico provide apt support throughout: their dashing, frothy strings offer a syllabub-light bed for her glass-like clarity and poise” The Independent, 12th April 2013

“a voice of bell-like purity, even throughout its compass, immaculately fluent in coloratura...Though Il Giardino Armonico's punchy, adrenaline-fuelled playing may disconcert some in Mozart, they vividly complement a singer who rivals the young Bartoli in high-octane virtuosity” Gramophone Magazine, May 2013

“[Alleluia] certainly showcases her unusual status as a Russian coloratura specialist, and one who trills and leaps with enviable cleanliness and clarity...She sings sweetly, with trills effortlessly folded in like sparkling jewels, and four top Ds easily scaled...Lezhneva’s voice, however, still seems a work in progress.” The Times, 14th June 2013 ***

“Bates wisely judges that the pace of the opening chorus [of the Handel] should be dictated by the singers' natural declamation of the line...I particularly appreciated Crowe's gorgeous soft singing” Gramophone Magazine, May 2013

“David Bates directs all with liveliness and a fluent feeling for style.” Classical Music, June 2013

Gramophone Critic's Choice

“The star attraction here is Vivaldi's beautiful setting of the Vespers psalm Niski Dominus (RV 608). This… is sung with warm-toned sensibility by Lynne McMurtry.” BBC Music Magazine, January 2009 ****

“Simone Kermes is an agile singer with a wide vocal range who is comfortably able to negotiate Vivaldi's virtuoso writing with technical panache and expressive warmth.” BBC Music Magazine, April 2007 *****

“Opening with one of the composer's most thrillingly virtuoso motets, In furore iustissimae irae, the Venice Baroque Orchestra go on to one of his most beautiful, Nullo in mundo pax. And if the other two are less individually striking, they are nevertheless well worth hearing; In turbato mare opens with a stomach-churning depiction of those raging seas that are always tossing the soul so, and later conjures dread at mention of the 'horrors of death', while Sum in medio tempestatum treats a similar subject with a touch more mid-century leisure and politeness.
The disc is, of course, a vehicle for Simone Kermes, whose bright vocal talents have so far impressed in a number of Baroque operas but here make their solo recording debut. She proves more than a match for Vivaldi's typically athletic vocal demands – indeed adds to them in a number of tessitura-extending cadenzas – and makes much of the music's bold contrasts. Some may look for more innocence in the gentler music, where her mini-vibrato can sound rather knowing, but in general Kermes's performances give nothing but pleasure. The orchestra is forthright and exciting, with a satisfyingly full, organ-enriched sound, marred only by some of the cheesy lute embellishments.
A straightforward Vivaldi disc, but one full of the strength of expertise.” Gramophone Classical Music Guide, 2010

“…Simone Kermes… proves more than a match for Vivaldi's typically athletic vocal demands - indeed adds to them in a number of tessitura-extending cadenzas - and makes much of the music's bold contrasts. The orchestra is forthright and exciting, with a satisfying full, organ-enriched sound...” Gramophone Magazine, June 2007

“'In furore is the ideal score for any soprano who's spoiling for a fight – with herself!' So says Sandrine Piau in the booklet, and she could have added that it also makes a superb opener for any disc. The motet could have been made for a singer of Piau's avian lightness and agility, and sure enough she throws herself into it, bringing to it her usual precision and, with a technique that enables plenty of dazzling extra ornaments, winning personality.
With her energy and imagination, Piau manages to find contrast in the work, not just between its fearful opening movement and more penitential second, but on a local scale as well. In the Laudate pueri, an altogether more urbane offering, she sings with poise, expressive sophistication and tonal power. Piau's quickness of mind is matched by the orchestral playing of Accademia Bizantina, whose sound, typically for an Italian group, is deliciously grainy, allowing for an alert and intense approach to interpretative detail. Thus they never fail to enhance the mood of a particular number, a skill which they also put to good use in the disc's three orchestral works..” Gramophone Classical Music Guide, 2010